Youko
by Aura24
Summary: Wizeman creates a new Nightmaren named Youko to replace Nights after his betrayal. She eventually meets another Maren like herself and they become inseparable until they meet NiGHTS and started being free. But what happens if Wizeman finds out about this?
1. Prologue: Enter Youko

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Nights into Dreams. I _do_ own Youko.

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**Prologue: Enter Youko**

Inside one of the chambers of Nightmare Castle, the ruler of nightmares and its denizens, Wizeman, was in his chamber, creating yet, another Nightmaren to add to his collection. The massive entity waved one of his huge hands as dark energy began to draw themselves toward him out of nowhere, gathering around like cattle.

Reala was hovering beside his master, patiently waiting for Wizeman to create a Nightmaren to replace Nights' position in rank. The jester-like Nightmaren wanted a Nightmaren that is stronger than Nights, one that is in the same level as him. Slowly, the dark energy began to take form, morphing into a large, four-legged figure with three, large and bushy tails stretching out from its rear. A pair of sinister eyes opened on the creature's face, as it flew open its jaws of razor sharp teeth and uttered a blood-curtling roar. Reala leaned forward, as he expected a monstrous creature around the same size as Clawz to replace his brother's position. However, the figure's size suddenly shrunk to the size of a kitten, and finally, Wizeman completed his creation. Reala widened his eyes and blinked at the new Nightmaren in disbelief.

A small and red, three-tailed kitsune floated motionlessly before its giant creator and Reala, coated in a soft and pulsating, dark glow before slowly being levitated to the floor below. Three, vulpine tails hovered behind the creature, each of the tail tips were plastered in their own multicolored fur. Violet fur surrounded the kitsune's neck as dark purple fur was streaked around its paws. Its eyes were slitted, giving away a fox-like face and white fur was on down half of its muzzle. The seemingly dangerous, but cute Nightmaren shook its head and looked around at its new surroundings, oblivious to Wiseman, who stood before it.

A huge, eyed hand from Wiseman hovered over to the new Nightmaren, examining the specimen up close. The red kitsune looked directly at the eyed hand with its slitted eyes, showing Wiseman that his new creation can still see. Fortunately, it didn't show any fear of some sort from being created nor looking into the eyes of a giant ruler, which slightly pleased Wizeman.

"Welcome to the world of Nightmares, young Nightmaren." Wizeman said to the red kitsune, his voice surrounding it, "I am your master and creator; Wizeman."

The red kitsune spoke slowly in a seemingly, squeaky voice, obviously a female's, "Master...Wizeman."

"Yes." The massive entity responded, nodding, "And your name shall be...Youko.(**A/N #1**)"

"Youko..." The red kitsune repeated, tilting her head by the name, but accepted it.

Reala glided over to Youko as he examined her while hovering around the kitsune. Youko jumped at the sight of the High-leveled Nightmaren, her fur bristled slightly, but calmed down once she sensed that Reala wasn't an enemy. The jester-like Nightmaren hovered next to Youko, still looking down at the kitten-sized kitsune and casting his cold, blue eyes to her. He still couldn't believe that his master has created a creature whose appearance resemble those of a Nightopian, can be a Nightmaren. Youko can't possibly be powerful as Reala, especially in the current form she is now. However, he does feel a powerful energy flowing in Youko, so he might as well accept her.

Wizeman spoke out calmly, as if sensing Reala's disbelief of Youko, "Do not let her appearance fool you, Reala. She is a strong Nightmaren and I expect you to treat her like one of your own."

The jester-like Nightmaren then turned back to his evil creator. "Yes, Master Wiseman." Reala replied, bowing to the ruler of Nightmares.

"You are dismissed." Wizeman nodded, then he turned to the red kitsune, "Youko, do whatever what Reala tells you to do. I don't want to hear any reports of any disobedient behavior." Upon hearing the order, Youko nodded to her master.

Reala then said to his new recruit, "Let's go, Youko."

The red kitsune replied nodding to Reala, "Okay." Youko leapt off the floor and into the air, and as she did, small flames erupted from her beneath her paws and she magically floated up to Reala while waving her paws below her body. This slightly suprised Reala, who blinked at Youko's sudden ability to fly.

Youko asked Reala, her three tails wagging in the air, "Well, what are we waiting for?" The red kitsune then hovered out of Wiseman's chamber with the flames engulfing her paws trailing her as she disappeared, leaving the High-leveled Nightmaren floating in mid-air. Reala snapped back to focus and quickly glided after the small, eager Nightmaren to keep track of her.

Still...There was something odd about that kitsune that Reala couldn't put a finger on it...

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**A/N #1- **Youko derives from the word "youko", which means bewitching fox in Japanese.


	2. Chapter 1: Enraged Insanity

**Chapter 1: Enraged Insanity**

Reala was gliding through the hallways of Nightmare Castle in search of his new partner, in which he was suppose to look after. The Nightmaren jester then caught sight of Youko, hovering in front of a door which led to NiGHTSs' old room when he was still loyal to Wizeman. Reala glided over to Youko and glared at the kitsune. "You shouldn't run off like that." Reala scolded, "Next time wait for me."

Youko responded happily, hovering around Reala, "Sorry, Master Wizeman led me here."

"Wizeman?" Reala repeated with suprise.

"Shall we?" Youko asked innocently, her tails wagging. Reala nodded to the red kitsune as he pushed open the door leading to the sleeping quarters of Nights. The Nightmaren jester looked around the room. It has been a while since he had seen it since Nights betrayed Reala.

Youko asked out, sniffing around, "What's this room? It almost has your scent all over the place."

"This will be your sleeping quarters." Reala replied, "It used to be my brother's."

"The traitor?" The red kitsune questioned with a hint of venom in her tone, looking back to the Nightmaren jester after observing an oddly shaped cape with red and orange stripes that was hovering over a bed upside down.

Reala growled, narrowing his eyes, "Yes."

Youko turned around back to the odd-shaped cape only to stare into the cold, sadistic eyes of Jackle, whose toothy grin widened upon seeing the red kitsune startled by his appearance. Youko gasped with fright before leaping a few feet away from the Nightmaren as she bared her teeth and bristled her fur with aggression.

Reala immediately whipped around to see what was happening only for him to glare at the only Nightmaren psycopath. "Jackle. I thought Wizeman told you to stay in the Soft Museum." He said.

Jackle responded to his ally, grinning wickedly, "He did. But I thought it would be fun to see your new acquaintance that would be replacing your brother. And I thought it would be fun to scare him out of his skin." He then turned right side up.

"And you suceeded." Reala finished.

Youko had somehow teleported herself away from Jackle and has latched herself onto Reala's left shoulder. The red kitsune questioned Reala, her voice dipped with venom after being frightened by Jackle, "What is he? Some kinda freak with a cape?"

"This is Jackle; our mantle. He misplace his brain and we _can't_ seem to find it." Reala replied dully, not really interested in introductions with Jackle, "Jackle, this is our new High-level Nightmaren, Youko. She will be replacing Nights." Jackle blinked his eyes with disbelief at the thought of Youko being a Nightmaren. He observed her for a moment until...

He asked with shock, pointing directly at Youko, "_That_ is the new High-level Nightmaren?" Jackle then started cackling, much to Youko's utmost dislike, "You gotta be kidding me, Reala! Hahahaaha! _She_, a three-tailed furball, a Nightmaren? Hahahaha! By the looks of it, she can't even scare a Nightopian! Hahahahahaha!"

Reala glared at Jackle until he noticed Youko bristling her fur with rage at Jackle for making fun of her. With a unhumane snarl, Youko swiftly lunged at Jackle with open jaws and latched herself onto the psycopath's face. Jackle yelled out in suprise until he felt rows of teeth painfully sinking into his face. He then urgently started to pulled Youko off of him, feeling her teeth digging into his skin. Finally, the psycopath managed to get the red kitsune off of him and flung her toward the walls.

However, Youko turned her body over as she landed on the walls on her feet and swiftly leaped off them, propelling herself back toward Jackle. The red kitsune soared past Jackle and grabbed hold of his cape and ripped it away from the psycopath to get rid of his only protection. She then launched herself head first toward the psycopath.

Jackle was about to evade the attempt, however, Youko was too fast for him as the red kitsune barreled toward him like a launched torpedo. Jackle yelled again as Youko head-butted the Mantle in the very center of his invisible body, spearing Jackle down to the floor hard.

Before Youko could tackle the psycopath again, she was suddenly yanked away from Jackle by a clawed hand. Reala had grabbed Youko by one of her three tails, pulling her away from the psycopath to prevent her from harming the Jackle any further. Youko was now barking viciously at Jackle like a ferocious dog, baring rows of sharp, glistening teeth. Her slitted eyes were wide open, glaring with vengance as they glowed darkly in purple. Blue claws had appeared on tip of her paws, sharp and glinting.

"Youko, stop this now!" Reala ordered with a sharp command, struggling to keep the kitsune from attacking at his ally. Youko obediently stopped struggling and simply growled at Jackle, who was trembling in fear. Never had he seen a small creature attack him before, especially if the creature was a High-Leveled Nightmaren.

Reala stated sternly, "Jackle, I suggest now would be a good time for you to return to Soft Museum instead of playing around and _insulting_ others."

Youko leered darkly, her voice now facetious and mocking, "Yeah, go back to the Soft Museum where you belong, _**psycopath**_." Her amethyst and faceted eyes narrowed as a wicked and twisted smile was forged on her white muzzle. Her purple eyes were glinting with cruelty and cunning.

Jackle chuckled nervously as he slowly floated away toward his cape and tied it back to his collar, then he hovered to the doorway, keeping a safe distance from Youko as best as possible. When the psycopath reached the door, Youko uttered out a monstrous roar as Jackle yelled out in fear and quickly flew away into the hallway.

Youko then turned to Reala with a innocent smile and said, "Well...now that that's over, I'm ready to scare some dreamers, wouldn't you agree?" Reala was suprised at his new acquaintance. The red kitsune was back to her innocent self, which was very, _very_ unusual after being a little monstrosity two minutes ago. Her eyes were once again slitted, making her face look fox-like. She then hummed a haunting tune as she glided out of Reala's arms and out of her sleeping quarters, the flames on her paws flaring.

The Nightmaren jester blinked with shock. "Well, at least, she's not that cute anymore." Reala muttered, before flying out of his brother's old room and into the hallways.

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**A/N:** Like I said before, Youko means _bewitching_ fox. Don't underestimate her cuteness!


	3. Chapter 2: Who is NiGHTS?

**Chapter 2: Who is NiGHTS?**

Two hours later, Reala was flying around Nightmare Castle after losing sight of Youko. He didn't bother looking for her, knowing that she might've been called by Wizeman or went on her way to Nightopia to find dreamers to scare. As Reala flew to a corner, he bumped into a red and yellow mantle and immediately pushed him away. The dark Nightmaren gritted his teeth once he saw Jackle in his sights...again. "Reala...Is she around?" Jackle asked, looking around nervously.

Reala replied calmly, "Not at the moment. She was too excited about scaring dreamers, that she took off on her own to get one."

"Good." Jackle sighed with relief, "That pipsqueak can pack a punch. If I was a High level Nightmaren, I would teach her a thing or two with my cards."

Reala responded, "You know I'm starting to think that you're scared of Youko ever since she nearly beat you to a pulp."

"What?" Jackle questioned, a bit enraged, "I'm not scared of that kitten-sized vulpine! I mean, if she wasn't so strong-"

"Hi, Reala! Jackle!" a familiar, childish voice rang out. Jackle shrieked out in fright as he jumped over to Reala and landed in his arms, shivering and trembling in submission.

Reala turned to the source of the voice and saw a small, jester-like Nightmaren flying over to him with a kitten-like smile. It stood almost the same size as a child and a collar of purple and violet fur surrounded its neck. It was wearing a red and purple jester ha, and a pair of piercing, purple eyes were filled with cruelty and cunning as a familiar, innocent smile forged on its face while its hands were completely underneath its long sleeves. The Nightmaren apeared to be a female and her skin color was white as snow, completely standing out of the darkness surrounding the hallways.

Reala lowered his arms and dropped Jackle to the floor in a comically fashion. "Youko?"

"Yep. Neat, huh?" The red Nightmaren twirled around, allowing Reala to see her new features, "I can transform into this form anytime I want. I discovered this while I was looking for dreamers, but I can't seem to find some."

"Fool, you can't find them here." Jackle growled, rising from the floor, "You have to go all the way to Nightopia to find them."

Youko repeated, "Nightopia? Oh yeah! Reala, Master Wizeman has summoned you. He sounded very serious."

"Did he? Alright." Reala glanced down for a moment and turned around to fly away to Wizeman's chamber, "I'll leave you two alone. And Youko, don't start a fight."

"Yes sir!" Youko replied happily with an innocent smile, waving to Reala as he disappeared. She then turned to Jackle with dark and evil grin, knowing that Reala was gone. The red Nightmaren growled to Jackle, her eyes glowing, "Now then..._where was I?_"

Jackle suddenly trembled upon seeing Youko's eyes glowing again. After receiving a serious beating, he doesn't want to go near her. "Y-Youko, don't do it. Remember what Reala said to you! You have to obey him." The mantle stuttered.

Youko retorted, slowly advancing toward Jackle, "I don't care what Reala says. All I care about is _vengance_. What happened this evening was just a warm-up, but right now, I'll beat you with all of my might and strength. Teasing hurts, you know, and some people, like me, want payback."

"You're disobeying orders." Jackle growled, narrowing his eyes, "What will Master Wizeman and Reala think of you disobeying them? You're just like NiGHTS having a free will!" He then flinched in fear for the worst.

"NiGHTS?" Youko questioned, suddenly turning back to her innocent self and looking at Jackle, "Who is NiGHTS? Is he the traitor?"

Jackle looked suprised at Youko and was relieved that telling her the name stopped her from beating him. In order to get the red Nightmaren from beating the mantle up, Jackle must answer her question.

"W-what? NiGHTS? Uh, hmmm..." Jackle thought for a moment. He couldn't just tell Youko that the traitor was a goody Nightmaren who has soft feelings. So it wouldn't hurt to tell her a little fib. A wicked smirk was forged on the mantle's face before he replied to Youko, "Well...NiGHTS is an evil Nightmaren that has the power to defeat every one of us here. The one who betrayed us to protect Nightopia, his realm for world conquest."

Youko asked curiousity, hovering close to Jackle's face, much to his digust, "How evil is he?"

"How evil?_ Very evil_." Jackle replied, moving his face closer to Youko, making her move back, "Evil enough to destroy every one of us here and even _you_ if he had to. He takes dreamers away from us whenever we try to turn them in to Wizeman and keeps them to himself. He defeated me once using that infernal paraloop." Jackle clenched his fist at the memory.

Youko commented, placing her sleeves to her waist, "How selfish."

Jackle snickered, "Yeah. You should stay away from him and not listen to whatever word he says to you. He'll use his words to turn you against Wizeman or _**worse**_." Youko trembled by the word. With that, the mantle snickered maniacally and hovered away into the hallway, glad to get away from Youko and to know that she believed his lie about NiGHTS being an evil Nightmaren.

Youko floated in the air, still thinking about what Jackle said about the traitor. "NiGHTS, huh?" Youko muttered. She then imagined the mysterious NiGHTS in her thoughts. An evil, purple Nightmaren jester bearing a wicked, razor-sharp grin with eyes piercing with red, glowing eyes of pure evil. A deep, demonic chuckle emited from the imaginative Nightmaren, which made Youko shake off her imagination in fright. She shuddered nervously, "I wouldn't want to meet him."

With that, she flew away to the dark hallways and out of Nightmare Castle, flying over to Nightopia. "Now where can I go to find some dreamers? Nightopia. That's where I should go."


	4. Chapter 3: A Chat with NiGHTS

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the wait. I had a large writer's block, but I'm back! I decided to add another one of my fan characters in the story and I'm sure he'll be interesting to you all.

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**Chapter 3: A Chat with NiGHTS**

Inside Nightmare Castle, Jackle was floating around, snickering to himself after thinking of a way to get back at Youko. He floated over to the kitsune's room and creaked open the door, peeking inside. In Nightmaren form, Youko was snoozing in her bed, resting peacefully after tiring herself out from finding dreamers. Jackle smirked wickedly when he thought of a sinister prank of his own before he quietly hovered over to Youko. After taking a deep breath, the mantle unleashed a loud cackle in Youko's ears, causing the red Nightmaren to jump from her nap with fright and fly away. Youko stopped and looked around, but after hearing a familiar laughter, she sharply turned around to see Jackle snickering at her sudden reaction.

"You shoulda seen the look on your face!" Jackle laughed maniacally, "You better wake up, slacker, we don't want any lazy Marens sleeping around! Ahahahahahahaaaa!" The mantle floated out of the room with the same chilling cackle and disappeared behind the hallway. Growling, Youko floated out of her room and her eyes glowed brightly with purple, angry and intent on seriously hurting on Jackle.

A young and charming, black Nightmaren appeared from one of the hallways after hearing the conversation and looked to where Jackle disappeared to. His eyes twinkled blood red and his features almost resembled Reala, but was younger and was around Youko's age. The black Nightmaren turned to Youko and asked in a young, boyish voice, "Did he wake you?"

"If you must know, yes." Youko replied, still feeling angry.

"Troublesome Maren, that Jackle..." The black Nightmaren remarked.

Youko agreed, calming down while looking to the Maren, "Yeah."

The black Nightmaren cleared his throat and introduced, smiling a wicked grin, "My name is Gallontine."

"I'm Youko." Youko introduced also, floating over to the black jester, Gallontine, with a wicked grin of her own, "It's nice to see another Nightmaren around my age for a change."

"Likewise." Gallontine responded, as he glanced away, "You know, I have just been given an assignment by Master Wizeman to scout out Nightopia for any signs of dreamers. I was going to go there by myself, but..." He glanced back to Youko, "Would you like to come along?"

"Really?" Youko perked up with a smile, "Sure!"

Gallontine inquired, guesturing his hand to the outside, "Shall we, then?"

"Let's." Youko smiled, before she and Gallontine floated off through the halls of Nightmare Castle and out into the misty air, soaring towards their destination: Nightopia.

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In one of the many lands of Nightopia, a cluster of Nightopians were happily playing together in harmony. Some were singing songs while others were hovering around with glee to enjoy their joyous life. However, they were unaware that they were being watched by two, sinister nightmares.

In kitsune form, Youko and Gallontine both eyed the peaceful inhabitants frolick about in the fields, lurking in the tall grass of the hills. In his kitsune form, Gallontine looked similar to Youko with the addition of his black fur and gray mane. His eyes were also slitted closed and his three tails each flustered with three different colors of red, orange, and yellow. Both he and Youko continued to spy the Nightopians from the cover of the tall grass; their eyes glowed dark purple as they were filled with malice. Gallontine turned to his red companion and questioned softly, "Who's going to be in charge for the attack?"

Youko replied, "Nobody needs to be in charge."

Gallontine responded, "Oh, somebody must be in charge."

"I'll be charge then." Youko said.

The black kitsune smirked, "Couldn't I be in charge?"

"If you want." The red kitsune retorted.

"Perhaps we better have a vote." Gallontine suggested, turning his head to Youko.

"Alright." Youko said, "I vote for me."

Gallontine glanced up and thought about who he should vote before he turned back to Youko, answering, "Hmmm...I vote for..._me_." The black kitsune glanced up again, "One kitsune makes one and one other kitsune makes one. Doesn't add up. We need someone else to vote to make it two to one. I'll just be a moment." Gallontine stalked forward towards the Nightopians through the grass without being noticed.

"Gallontine!" Youko gasped in a low voice. Gallontine had crept up towards a stray Nightopian and quickly snatched by the collar of its shirt before darting back to where Youko was. The black kitsune stood in front of his friend and dropped the Nightopian in front of Youko to allow the creature to tremble in dread.

"Now then, we're going to attack the Nightopians and might steal a dreamer's ideya if we see one, see?" Gallontine explained to the Nightopian, "But we voted on who should lead the attack and it came out one vote each. So we're asking _you_ who should lead the attack: _me_ or _her_?"

The Nightopian still felt frightened by the Nightmarens' presence, but it turned to Youko and managed to squeak out through its fear, "...Her."

"Drat!" Gallontine cursed.

Youko smirked evilly, "Since I'm in charge, we attack at the right moment. But we have to be careful. The evil Nightmaren traitor, NiGHTS, might be around and he'll destroy us if he comes by. Let's go." The red kitsune stalked forward followed closely by Gallontine, leaving the frightened Nightopian to cower in fear.

The Nightopians were still unaware of the Nightmarens' presence and they continued to play happily in one of the many fields of Nightopia. Suddenly, a pair of large figures leapt from the cover of the bushes and into the air above the Nightopians, and as the peaceful residents looked at them, they instantly scrambled away in fright when two beasts landed directly where they last stood.

Snarling with eagerness, Youko was now in her true form; a large, three-tailed fox with slanted, purple eyes, pulsing with pure evil. Her paws were now complete with razor-sharp claws, as her purple mane bristled with her eager aggressive nature. Gallontine was also a large, three-tailed fox, but he was larger than Youko and his fur was more pitch black than before. His eyes glowed blood red and his gray paws stomped the ground as his claws raked the grass. Seeing the Nightopians scrambling away, Youko and Gallontine charged forward. The two, nightmarish foxes swiped at the innocent residents, knocking them away and scaring them with their antics. Laughing, the Nightmarens leapt across the fields, scaring and harming as many Nightopians as they can. However, it didn't go on as planned.

There was a loud yelp of pain.

Youko stopped in her tracks and turned to see Gallontine slamming into the ground after being struck by something before he laid motionless. The red kitsune caught sight of a streamline figure soaring by and she tried to lock her eyes onto him. With a roar, Youko leapt into the air and charged towards the mysterious Nightmaren that dared to interrupt her fun. However, before the kitsune could reach him, the mysterious Nightmaren looped over Youko and grabbed her by her neck. He then spinned Youko around for a bit before painfully launching her back as the kitsune yelped and collided into an injured Gallontine onto the ground, forming a cloud of dust to form around them.

Coughing, Youko and Gallontine were in their Nightmaren jester forms and moaned in pain after being defeated by the mysterious being who attacked them. The mysterious Nightmaren floated before the young jesters and folded his arms over his chest, his purple eyes looking at them with firm justice. It wasn't long before Youko recognized the purple Maren as...NiGHTS.

"Now then...what were you Nightmarens doing here?" The free, purple Nightmaren, NiGHTS, asked.

Youko replied nervously, "Uh...um, we weren't doing any harm to do these cute and innocent Nightopians."

"Y-Yes, we were just playing a little game." Gallontine responded, smiling sheepishly.

However, NiGHTS didn't look convinced and looked around at the terrified Nightopians still lingering in the fields. He turned back to Youko and Gallontine and retorted to them, "Looks more like terrorizing to me."

Youko and Gallontine both smiled sheepishly and they chuckle a bit. NiGHTS sighed, "Look, you don't have to do this. I mean there are other ways than just obeying Wizeman all the time and he'll use you like he does to his other Nightmarens."

Youko asked, "So are you saying there's more to do than just stealing dreamers?"

"Yes." NiGHTS nodded, relaxing as he floated in the air, "Like flying through Nightopia and explore, taking a dive in the ocean, or sit back and relax without no rules to ever bother you."

"No rules...?" Youko repeated; the words rang through her mind. Gallontine perked up by the words.

NiGHTS continued, as a small smile formed on his face, "Think of it. You two can never be told what to do, not even being ordered by Wizeman. You can be free like me!"

"Free...? Free..." Youko muttered, her eyes glanced down to the ground, "Freedom... Alright. We'll try it out." The red Nightmaren floated up to NiGHTS.

Gallontine retorted, following Youko, "Wizeman would have our heads for this...but what the heck?"

NiGHTS smiled, "Alright then. Follow me, and you'll know what it's like to be free." The purple Nightmaren soared away followed closely by Youko and Gallontine. The fear of being caught by Wizeman still lingered, but the freedom NiGHTS talked about made them feel different and out of their Nightmaren character. Now they were wondering where NiGHTS was leading them through the lands of Nightopia.


	5. Chapter 4: Sudden Intervention?

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long delay, guys. I had serious writer's block again.

**Chapter 4: Sudden Intervention?**

In the corners of Nightopia, NiGHTS guided Youko and Gallontine through the skies of Spring Valley. Although the two young jesters were fascinated at how beautiful the area was than they ever expected, they were still weary of NiGHTS, knowing that he is the rebel who betrayed their master Wizeman. Eventually, NiGHTS came to a stop near a large lake and floate above the grass before turning to Youko and Gallontine, who then shifted into their kitsune forms.

"Well?" He asked, "Like I said to you, Nightopia is a wonderful place. You wouldn't want a place like this destroyed, would you?"

Youko looked around, "...Um..." She and Gallontine scanned the surrounding area: the trees, the flowers, the Nightopians, the sunny clear skies, "It does look pretty..." But suddenly, she recalled Jackle saying those things about NiGHTS and snapped out of her wonder, "Wait a minute... Don't listen to him!" She exclaimed to Gallontine, "He's using his words to sway us away from Nightmare!"

"What are you going on about?" NiGHTS questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Youko glared at NiGHTS venomously, snarling as she floated up to him face-to-face, "You are the traitor who betrayed Master Wizeman, and you're here in Nightopia to prepare to conquer it! Taking all the Ideya for yourself!"

"..." NiGHTS blinked at Youko quietly at the outburst, but then suddenly snickered before letting out a loud laugh at what he had just heard.

Youko seemed confused at this.

"Conquer it? Whoever told you that nonsense?" NiGHTS asked with a laugh, "Who would want to conquer and destroy a peaceful and beautiful place like this? If Wizeman gets enough Ideya, he'll destroy Nightopia along with this place, and you two are mere puppets to him."

Youko stared at NiGHTS for a moment before she gave out a huff, "Hmph." She floated down to Gallontine and began whispering to him, not convinced by NiGHTS' words, "He's up to something.."

"I don't know. The way he's acting, he seems too carefree." Gallontine muttered softly.

"He's probably faking it."

"Although what said about this place is true..."

"He's still the enemy, and the renegade. We can't let our guard down..."

While the two kitsunes continued conversing quietly, NiGHTS thought to take the time to play his dream flute until the two young Nightmaren would return their attention to him. He sat down on air and began playing his invisible instrument, releasing a serene melody while doing so.

Youko and Gallontine's ears instantly stood up on their heads as they stopped their chat in mid-sentence, both hearing the serene melody of NiGHTS' flute. Quietly, the two kitsunes turned their heads to NiGHTS and immediately walked towards him. "What is that...sound? It's so... nice sounding..." Youko asked curiously.

NiGHTS stopped playing his dream flute, glancing down to Youko, "It's music."

"M...Mu...sic?" Youko repeated; she was new to the word.

NiGHTS nodded, "Yes, it's sound that sings."

Youko almost giggled, "Sound that sings?"

"That sounds almost ridiculous." Gallontine said with a snicker.

NiGHTS scoffed, "That's how you two see it." He closed his eyes and resumed playing his flute, letting the music's melody to once again fill the air.

Almost immediately, Youko was enchanted by the soothing music of the flute that she slowly laid down and curled up against the grass. Gallontine was also lured in by the music and laid on his back, basking in the sun as he was lulled to sleep by the soothing music.

NiGHTS, as he continued playing his dream flute, creaked open his right eye to see Youko and Gallontine lulled to sleep by the music. He then found it unusual, as most Nightmarens despise the very sound of music. Although these two high level Nightmaren were drawn to it, even to the point of enjoying music.

As the purple Nightmaren continued to ponder, a faint piercing bellow was suddenly mixed in with the music, and NiGHTS immediately stopped playing his flute when he noticed something didn't seem right. His cat-like eyes darted about swiftly, and the absence of music caused Youko and Gallontine to slowly wake up from their slumber.

"Awww, why'd you stop?" Youko whined softly, looking up at NiGHTS sleepily.

NiGHTS hissed quickly, "Shhh!" His eyes still scanned the peaceful area, yet he saw no signs of anything unusual.

Suddenly, a strange ripple appeared on the lake's surface before a savage whirlwind erupted forth. NiGHTS yelled out, caught off-guard as he was caught and forcefully pulled into the center of the whirlwind, unable to move away nor fly his way out, "Hey!" Down in the portal where the whirlwind was generating from, NiGHTS caught a glimpse of a familiar, dragon-like figure within a dark dimension soaring its way towards him. It streamed through the vortex before ramming its horned head into the immobolized NiGHTS, causing the purple Nightmaren to yell in pain as the figure fully emerged from the portal and hovered inside the whirlwind.

Youko and Gallontine both gasped with shock at what had just occurred. Within the whirlwind, the two kitsunes saw the massive form of a dragon-like monster fighting and struggling against NiGHTS, who was trying to free himself.

"It's Gillwing!" Gallontine exclaimed.

During the struggle, Gillwing managed to snap his jaws onto a small piece of NiGHTS' collar, briefly swinging the purple Nightmare around and causing the range of the whirlwind to expand briefly. The suction of the portal blew against Youko and Gullotine, causing them to close their eyes while struggling against the savage winds. Suddenly, the suction swept Youko up from the ground away from Gallontine and into the air. Squealing loudly in distress, Youko was pulled in towards Gillwing, and she quickly snagged hold of one of the dragon-fish's horns, escaping the swirling winds and clinging on for dear life as she screamed shrillingly, but her cries were mixed with Gillwing's screeching bellows.

"Youko!" Gallontine shouted, but quickly stood back to avoid getting sucked in by the wind as well.

Satisfied that he has captured NiGHTS, Gillwing began to sink back down through the portal, dragging the purple Nightmaren into his personal playground, and also unknowingly taking Youko with him. NiGHTS, despite his best efforts, was pulled down into Gillwing's lair where the dragon-fish is at the peak of his power. As Gillwing dragged NiGHTS downwards, Youko shrilled loudly as she still latched onto the dragon-fish's horn for dear life, experiencing the dreadful sensation of being forcefully yanked downwards to oblivion by a large monster. Eventually, Gillwing's body came in contact with one of the floating rocks in his lair, causing Youko to cease her cries upon impact.

NiGHTS quickly tore free from Gillwing's jaws and was about to fly off, but the dragon-fish coiled its stripped tail around the purple Nightmaren, squeezing the life out of NiGHTS. During the struggle, Youko continued to hold onto Gillwing's horn, whimpering softly, as the dragon-fish shifted and lashed about, still holding its grip on NiGHTS.

With a grunt, NiGHTS wrenched himself free and looked up to the portal, seeing it still open. Without a word, the purple Nightmaren began flying his way towards the vortex and slipped through. As he was about to exit out the portal, NiGHTS gave out a yell as he was pulled back deep into the dark dimension by Gillwing, who was intent on not letting NiGHTS escape, before they resumed their fight.

"You're not getting away!" Gillwing snarled, lunging at NiGHTS with his gaping jaws.

NiGHTS quickly sped out of the way only for Gillwing to chomp down on nothing, "Persistent aren't you?" During their battle, the portal leading back to Nightopia slowly closed, trapping NiGHTS and Youko with Gillwing in his dark playground.

Youko, having fallen off his Gillwing during the fight, was clinging onto the edge of a orange, white-striped floating rock before managing to climb herself up onto the platform. She looked over to the battle between NiGHTS and Gillwing; the purple Nightmaren evasively dodging the dragon-fish's lunges and bites while Gillwing proceeded his assault on NiGHTS. The red kitsune watched the fight progress, though worriedly. "I don't like this..." She whimpered, panting softly. Despite Youko hoping that Gillwing would destroy NiGHTS, she didn't want to end up being in the middle of their battle!

In the distance, NiGHTS sped through the air and flew by, trying to put some distance away from Gillwing to counterattack him, though he didn't see Youko. However, Gillwing immediately gave chase, gliding past the rock that carried Youko. The gust of wind from Gillwing flying by caused the debris and smoke to be swept into the air around Youko as she tried her best to survive the battle.

As NiGHTS streamed through the air, Gillwing maneuvered in front of NiGHTS, his eyes gleaming vengeance as he snarled deeply. With a lash of its mighty, stripped tail, Gillwing whipped a floating large rock towards NiGHTS. The purple Nightmaren evasively dodged the attack, only for the projectile to soar towards the rock Youko was taking refuge on and impact a large explosion. The force of the blast sent Youko flying straight into the air as she squealed loudly once again in distress, spiraling away out of control. The small form of the red kitsune soon reached the height of her ascent and came to a stop in a wide gap where Gillwing and NiGHTS were about clash in battle once more. Youko opened her eyes to see where she was, revealing her purple irises, only to see the approaching form of Gillwing soaring his way towards her.

Unaware of Youko's small frame hovering before him, the massive flying beast pumped his wings and opened his gaping jaws wide, unleashing a thundering and screeching bellow as he was ready to continue his assault on NiGHTS, "You're mine!"

Seeing Gillwing opening his mouth as he flew towards her, Youko widened her violet eyes further, convinced that the massive dragon-like beast was about to eat her. A strong feeling gripped Youko to the very core, and the first time in her short life, she felt a sense of terror that was powered by the fear of getting eaten. Youko closed her eyes tightly, and suddenly a red light began to emit from deep within Youko's body and it started to glow brightly, illuminating the area.

Gillwings slowed down his charge and gazed upon the light radiating before him, pumping his wings to stay afloat and screeching softly in confusion, "What!"

NiGHTS widened his eyes, almost astonished at the sudden appearance of the light between him and Gillwing. Upon closer inspection, the purple Nightmaren saw the glimpsing form of Youko within the light, "Youko?"

Before Gillwing and NiGHTS could gaze in awe at the sight any further, Youko unleashed a light red explosion of energy all around her from the light that coated her, causing the surrounding Nightmarens to struggle to gain their composure against the force of the energy burst. As soon as the explosion disappeared, a large portal was torn open in the middle of the air as a result, leading to the familiar areas of Nightopia. As Youko began to fall downwards, the wake of the vortex gripped the kitsune's small form and she was sucked into the portal to Nightopia with a scream. The red kitsune whimpered softly as she drifted through the multicolored tunnel of the portal and flew out of the vortex, plunging into the shallow waters below. Gallontine instantly saw Youko and floated over to her to check to see if she was alright.

Back down in Gillwing's dimension and although shocked at Youko creating another vortex, NiGHTS caught sight of the familiar world of Spring Valley that laid beyond the other side of the new portal. "There's my ticket out of here." He said, before he sped his way towards the portal with Gillwing streaming after him in hot pursuit.

As NiGHTS nearly cleared the portal, he was suddenly yanked back into Gillwing's dimension as the dragon-fish wasn't done with the purple Nightmaren yet, still intent on keeping NiGHTS in his lair and having his revenge.

NiGHTS growled, "Oh no you don't!" With a evasive loop, the purple Nightmaren streamed up onto Gillwing's head and launched it away, forcefully detaching the dragon-fish's head from his tail as it lashed about wildly. While Gillwing's head began to regenerate, NiGHTS took this as the opportunity to fly back towards the portal and escape Gillwing's dimension completely. "Perhaps be a little more gentlier next time!" He remarked with a smile, and shortly afterwards, the portal leading to the dark dimension closed shut, leaving no traces behind.

Before the vortex sealed away into nothingness, the purple Nightmaren could hear the screeching roar of Gillwing echo out in rage before it died down. He then looked around for Youko, but saw no signs of her and Gallontine anywhere. "Hey...wonder where those two foxes go?" He looked around a little bit longer before he sighed, knowing full well where the two kitsunes went to, "Back to Nightmare I guess." With a swift turn, NiGHTS glided his way into the corners of Spring Valley to overlook the area for any more disturbances.


End file.
